R360 Training System©
Strength Training
You wouldn’t build a house on weak foundations. The same principle should apply to how you prepare your body for the demands of running. The R360 Training System© places the development and maintenance of strength front and centre. Including regular strength training not only increases your capacity to tolerate a greater volume of running but has also been shown to help lower the risk of injury. Strength training = more running. So why wouldn't you?!
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Our approach to strength training places an emphasis on; plyometrics, power lifting, core strength and functional exercises and movement patterns that will more directly apply to running. The result? Measurable performance improvements.
Strength Training classes run all year (Saturdays, pre-parkrun), with an additional emphasis placed on building strength in the Off-Season (Nov-Mar) on Tuesday evenings.
Aerobic Capacity
Before you can start to run faster, you have to spend a whole lot of time running slower; increasing your aerobic capacity. This is perhaps counter intuitive for many, given the focus on HIIT today. High intensity interval training does have its place, but will only be effective once you've built an adequate aerobic base first. It’s the single biggest factor that will enable you to run further and faster.
It involves a high volume of easy, low-to-moderate intensity activity and should constitute upwards of 80% of your total training time. This element of your training enhances the efficiency of the muscles to produce energy aerobically, primarily using fat as the main fuel source.
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The Group Runs during the Race Training season (Apr-Oct) are ideal for developing aerobic capacity.
Speedwork
This is the other 20% of your running volume; high intensity interval training. This is focused on developing your anaerobic energy system and VO2max. This is where we develop speed and get used to running at race pace and above, improving your tolerance of lactate acid.
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This is the fun stuff but hard work too; threshold and tempo intervals, plus hill sprints. Off-season is a good time to develop speed, during dedicated Speedwork sessions on a Thursday night. Throughout the year, we keep this work ticking along with training runs and race efforts at parkrun every Saturday morning.
Movement
Developing your aerobic capacity, strength and speed is one thing, however there’s more to consider in relation to better running and performance. Gracefully floating across gnarly terrain, attacking the downhills or responding to a competitor’s sudden turn of pace requires finely tuned movement skills. Your balance, agility, coordination and reaction time all come into play.
We look at running technique, practice downhills, and incorporate balance, agility and running drills into the Group Runs from Mar-Oct.
Durability
The Oxford English Dictionary defines durability as “the ability to withstand wear, pressure, or damage.” Any form of physical training is putting your body under stress and continually damaging muscle tissue. Whilst this is necessary to create the adaptations and performance gains we seek, too much of a good thing will inevitably lead to overtraining and/or injury. Unless we create the right conditions for the body to cope with all that stress.
The R360 Training System© terms these conditions as the development of Durability. This requires maintenance of flexibility and mobility, conditioning of injury-prone areas, a modulated training programme and appropriate recovery.
All Group Training sessions always include mobility exercises and stretching, whilst focussed flexibility & movement workouts are incorporated into the Monday Night Light sessions and Super Saturday every 4th week.